


Anamnesis & Ophiuchus

by GriffinHuntress



Series: Amaurotine Musings [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Amaurot (Final Fantasy XIV), Amaurotines (Final Fantasy XIV), Gen, Inspired by The Giver, One Shot, Patch 5.0: Shadowbringers Spoilers, Patch 5.3: Reflections in Crystal Spoilers, Spoilers, general musings on amaurot, no beta we die like men, this started as an au but was weirdly close to canon so I guess it's not an au anymore?, vaguely implied one-sided emet-selch/fourteenth
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-03
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:13:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26270947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GriffinHuntress/pseuds/GriffinHuntress
Summary: "Your confidence in my ability to hold the attention of an audience ofchildrenis overwhelming," Hades drawls, clearly unamused.
Relationships: Elidibus & Solus zos Galvus | Emet-Selch, Solus zos Galvus | Emet-Selch & Hythlodaeus
Series: Amaurotine Musings [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1908697
Comments: 2
Kudos: 10





	Anamnesis & Ophiuchus

**Author's Note:**

> This started as an Emet-Selch AU that was based on a few quotes from the EX Hades trial and The Giver, but then when 5.3 came out, it was a lot closer to canon than I was expecting - so here it is, slightly edited to more closely match 5.3...

"Before there was Anamnesis Anyder, there was simply anamnesis - the cycle of life, wherein when a soul returned to the Underworld, its knowledge was returned to the whole and all humanity increased ever so in wisdom and understanding. 

"But man grew fearful of the forgetting that came upon them when they were reborn so traumatically into the world. Not satisfied with simply increasing the knowledge of the whole, they began to try to desperately find ways to save their knowledge, their history. They hoped that when they were reborn they could return that much more easily to where they had left off; always racing ahead to the next discovery…

"Eventually, paper, cloth, and stone decayed, and the tongue changed, and even those records were lost. So the brightest of these young minds finally found the solution - a great magick, one that could engrave their most important memories and history onto one of their number sensitive to the souls of the star. And thus would they become the first Emet-Selch…"

The man who bore the title in question scowled and, crumpling up the notes in his hands, threw the ball at his listener. " _ Bored _ , are we?"

"Ow! No, no - of course not, Hades! It was a  _ riveting _ speech!" Mock-dutifully, the other hooded figure reached down and picked up the ball of paper that had bounced off of his head before attempting to smooth it out on his lap.

Hades snorted and snapped his fingers, causing the paper to disappear from his friend's lap and reappear in his own hands, seeming no worse for the abuse. "I  _ heard _ you yawning, Daeus. I  _ know _ you would rather be outside with our dear friend on a day like today, but I need to have this done for my presentation for the students at the Didaskaleion next month."

It  _ was _ a nice day outside, and Hythlodaeus had to suppress another yawn at being stuck inside on his day off instead. "You had most of the  _ last _ month for this as well, so mayhaps you ought not to have left it for the last minute? Just a thought." He preemptively ducked, just in case his friend decided to throw the wad of paper at him again. When he didn't hear the noise of paper flying through the air, he straightened in his seat again. "Really though, I think it's  _ fine _ . Most of the students haven't even reached their hundredth year - they're going to be seeing how many ways they can create gum inside other students' sleeves or sneaking a look at their tomestones, not listening to you."

"Your confidence in my ability to hold the attention of an audience of  _ children _ is overwhelming," Hades drawled, clearly unamused.

Hythlodaeus rolled his eyes and slouched in his chair, slowly threatening to slide off of it. “Hades, would  _ we  _ have listened to a speech like that when  _ we  _ were at the Didaskaleion?”

“No,” Hades admitted sullenly, and his friend nodded as enthusiastically as he could when he was halfway out of his chair.

“And so, I declare that looks fine! If you must, you can ask our friend about it later, but for now, please,  _ please  _ can we go outside? I’ve been so busy with paperwork, I haven’t seen real sunlight in at  _ least  _ a year.”

Hades rolled his eyes, but folded the paper of notes up and tucked it safely inside of his sleeve before reaching down to help Hythlodaeus up. “You  _ have  _ to be exaggerating — surely the  _ Chief  _ can’t have  _ that  _ much work.”

“Maybe, maybe not,” his friend answered cheerfully, pulling Hades’s hand so hard as he climbed to his feet that he almost dragged Hades down with him. “You wouldn’t know,  _ would  _ you,  _ most  _ eminent-Emet-Selch-who-spends-all-his-days-off-napping-or-with-his-head-in-a-book!”

“That’s  _ also  _ not true, and you know it.” Hades grinned as he elbowed Hythlodaeus, who chuckled and moved out of the way again, dramatically waving a hand to mimic Hades.

“Oh, I’m  _ sorry _ , you  _ also  _ spend them pining over our  _ dear  _ friend, don’t you?”

“I do  _ no  _ such thing,” Hades huffed, and, sensing danger, Hythlodaeus chuckled again and began to walk faster.

* * *

“...a wonderful speech, eminent Emet-Selch. If I may—”

Hades had to suppress an urge to roll his eyes at the headmaster’s fawning; hidden behind his mask of office his face might be, but it was entirely possible that the man might pick up the change in his expression through his aether. 

Or… Hades couldn’t help taking a peek at the man’s soul and nearly snorted aloud. He was safe — the man’s aether was almost laughably weak. Perhaps that was why he had been assigned to a purely bureaucratic role instead of an active teaching one, despite his clear interest in a higher position. 

“Thank you, Scholarch,” he interrupted smoothly, placing his hand on his chest and lowering his head, the  _ picture  _ of politeness. “As the newest member of the Convocation, I’m  _ honored  _ to have been invited to give a lecture on our government here at the Didaskaleion. Unfortunately, as you  _ must  _ be aware — given that it was a not-insignificant portion of my speech — my duties are varied and many, and require much of my time.” 

This was, in fact, not true — due to the rarity of deaths in Amaurot, his presence at sendings was rarely needed, and Emet-Selch’s position was considered to be almost entirely ceremonial by most, so he was more often than not unoccupied. Despite this, Hades was painfully aware of the weight that came with his position. Similarly to the Bureau of the Architect's mission to record concepts for the greater good, his duty was to record the most important of  _ memories  _ for posterity. At the same time, Emet-Selch retained the strongest memories of  _ all  _ the souls he touched, so when the Convocation needed to make an important decision or were faced with a time of crisis, he would be called upon to access his immense store of collective knowledge in order to provide advice on how best to guide their people.

Since the headmaster didn’t seem to be understanding his hint, Hades cleared his throat. “As  _ such _ , I’m afraid I can’t stay overlong. Still, a  _ brief  _ tour would be most appreciated; I don’t believe I’ve been here since my own days as a student!” 

He chuckled, which had the desired effect of putting the other man at ease again. As they walked, the Scholarch kept up a steady stream of descriptions and chatter interspersed with flattery that Hades only gave enough attention to be able to respond at the appropriate points.

“Scholarch, do you hear that?” Drawing to a stop, he interrupted the man in the middle of some effusive praise of the Didaskaleion’s arts programs. 

“Hear what, eminent Emet-Selch?” The man blinked owlishly behind his white mask and this time, Hades  _ would  _ have rolled his eyes, but his attention was instead on a wisp of a sound that he’d caught in the aether.

“Music,” Hades murmured softly, turning his head to find the source of the sound. “Beautiful music…”

The headmaster’s aether betrayed his bafflement as the man folded his hands in front of himself primly. “With greatest respect, I  _ doubt  _ it, most eminent Emet-Selch. There are no music classes today— “

Ignoring him, Hades turned down a hallway and began to walk briskly, causing his companion to have to break into an undignified half-trot to catch up with him as he began to wind his way through hallways, following both the whisper of music and a glimpse of a bright, intriguing soul that he’d caught with it.

Finally he found the source — a quiet music room, far from the main hubbub of the rest of the school, and a child sitting at a large grand piano. The boy — or so Hades guessed based on how he’d altered his mask’s aetheric appearance — played with a dexterity that even Hades had to admit he would be jealous of, despite seeming not much older than those he’d spent the morning addressing. The melody, though familiar, seemed new too, as if the boy was changing it with his aether as he played. 

“You’re not supposed to be here unsupervised!”

Hades winced as the headmaster’s whine broke the boy’s concentration and a sour note rang out, causing the ethereal, aetheric music to shatter and fade away.

The boy didn’t answer immediately, instead raising his head with a stare Hades could tell was of irritation at being interrupted.

“What was that you were playing?” he asked instead, stepping inside the room. “It sounded familiar, but I couldn’t quite place the arrangement.”

Hades was pleased to see a small light of happiness that someone was interested in his music warm the boy’s aether, and after a moment of thought, he answered in a voice that was unexpectedly soft. “ _ Orpheus kai Eurydikē _ … but it’s my own arrangement."

“Is that so?” Hades let some of his genuine interest show and was rewarded with a slight, curious tilt of the boy’s head. “That’s a rather  _ dour  _ choice, isn’t it? And yet… I must say I found it quite beguiling. I have some slight familiarity with music myself; I’d love to hear you play more.”

“Ex _ cuse _ me.” The headmaster seemed unable to contain himself any longer. “Show more respect to the eminent Emet-Selch — what’s your name, child?”

The boy looked to the man, then back at Hades, suddenly uncertain. “Ophiuchus — Scholarch, Emet-Selch. I’m sorry; am I in trouble, sirs?”

Hades waved a hand, dismissing both the headmaster and the use of the honorific. “No, no.”

“ _ Yes _ . Students aren’t  _ allowed  _ to use classrooms without supervision,” the headmaster pouted. “We can’t have any special treatment, as I’m sure you must be aware, most eminent  _ Emet-Selch.  _ This one in particular has been brought to my attention before — it seems he often spends time studying alone or sneaking off like this rather than  _ socializing  _ with his peers.”

Hades sighed and almost responded with something snarky and  _ certain  _ to get himself in trouble, but restrained himself at the last moment. He had to be  _ diplomatic _ … Crossing the room, he knelt next to the boy — sitting on the piano’s bench, the boy’s head was almost level with his.

“Is this true?”

The boy nodded. “Yes, but it’s not  _ sneaking  _ — it’s simply hard to concentrate when the others are around, so I prefer to study by myself. They’re so loud in the dorms and even in class, they  _ fidget _ . Besides, I  _ like  _ studying.”

Hades couldn’t help smiling wryly. He had done well in school, yes, but he had certainly also been one of the boys Ophiuchus was complaining about. It hadn’t gotten much better at the Akadaemia either; as one of his professors had put it, he was ‘ _ too smart for his own good _ .’ As kindly as he could, he nodded at the boy. “I understand your complaints, but they’re still your peers, and one day you may have to work with some of them. Have you tried to speak with them?”

The boy shook his head and Hades nodded.

“I’m glad that you haven’t caused any trouble for them, but they need to learn to respect their quieter peers as well, so that should be the  _ first  _ thing to try. Perhaps you can work out both a time for you to study and for them to play, hm? Who knows, perhaps some of them will even join you! If you can’t work something out, I  _ promise  _ that if you come to me, I will  _ personally  _ make sure that everything is set straight — does that sound reasonable to you?”

The boy seemed stunned to receive such an offer from a member of the Convocation, but he nodded. “And… my music?”

Straightening, Hades turned to look back over his shoulder at the equally stunned headmaster. “While I agree we ought not to indulge in  _ special  _ treatment, it is also important we cultivate such gifts as members of the community are given by the Star, don’t you think? It would be a  _ terrible  _ shame for such talent to go entirely unnoticed, and I believe that Ophiuchus here —” He put a hand on the boy’s shoulder, startling him. “— has the makings of a  _ great  _ member of our community. I’m sure we can come to an arrangement for a music tutor for him at least. If he has indeed been  _ so  _ diligent in his studies, perhaps even he could take the entrance exam for Akadaemia Anyder early? I suspect he may be happier among the older students there than here.”

The headmaster spluttered for a moment, but realizing he couldn’t argue with the man he had been flattering all this time, he bowed his head. “O-of course, most eminent Emet-Selch… It… it will be done.” With an indignant swish of his communal robe, the man turned on his heel and fled, leaving only Hades and the boy in the music room.

“Emet-Selch?” the boy asked after a moment of hesitation, and Hades looked down at him.

“You may call me Hades, if you wish.” The boy shook his head vehemently, and Hades smiled. “Very well, I won’t make you. Yes?”

“Did you mean what you said? About me being… great and all that?”

Realizing how much he must have frightened the boy with his sudden, sweeping orders, Hades knelt again and nodded. “Emet-Selch doesn’t lie — which you would know had you attended my lecture today!” The boy shuffled his feet sheepishly, and Hades chuckled. “But yes. I meant it — I believe one day you really will be something great. Who knows; if you work hard, and your gifts are needed, perhaps one day we might meet again on the Convocation!”

After considering that for a moment, the boy looked up at him and smiled. “I think I’d like that — if that’s where I’m needed, of course.”

“Of course,” Hades echoed cheerfully, and stood. “Come along, I’ll escort you back to your dorm so you don’t get into any trouble. You see, I’m afraid I may have offended your Scholarch, so he  _ might  _ have flounced back to his office without  _ bothering  _ to inform anyone about your new curriculum.”

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to the Bookclub for their support! If you're a fic reader or writer, you can join here: https://discord.gg/enabling-debauched-xivfic ^_^


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